A vehicle control device employing a so-called shift-by-wire (SBW) has hitherto been known in an automatic transmission for a vehicle. The vehicle control device detects a shift position of a shift operating device by a sensor included in the shift operating device to determine a shift range corresponding to the shift position detected. Corresponding to the shift range determined, the vehicle control device then outputs a control signal to the automatic transmission, etc. Specifically, if the shift range determined based on a detection signal from the sensor is a driving range, then the vehicle control device outputs a control signal for gear change corresponding to the driving range to the automatic transmission to thereby execute a gear change of the automatic transmission, whereas if the determined shift range is a parking range (P range), then it outputs a control signal to a parking lock mechanism for mechanically stopping drive wheels from rotating to activate the parking lock mechanism to thereby perform a parking lock for preventing the rotation of the drive wheels. For example, a vehicle control device described in Patent Document 1 is the vehicle control device employing the shift-by-wire.
A vehicle described in Patent Document 1 includes a range switching device having the shift operating device and an electric motor driven in conjunction with a shift operation of the shift operating device; and the automatic transmission that changes gears under hydraulic control. The vehicle control device described in Patent Document 1 detects a shift range indicated by the range switching device from a position detection sensor included in the range switching device and detects a shift range indicated by the automatic transmission from a hydraulic detection sensor included in the automatic transmission. If detection results obtained from the position detection sensor and the hydraulic detection sensor do not coincide with each other, then the controller executes a preset fail-safe processing since at least one of the position detection sensor and the hydraulic detection sensor is considered to have an abnormality (failure, fail). The fail-safe process includes for example warning an operator by use of a buzzer, a lamp, etc. and switching the driving range to P range under certain conditions.